Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 1 posts:

• "Happy Cakeday, r/LifeImprovement! Today you're 10" by u/AutoModerator

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 1 posts:

• "Happy Cakeday, r/LifeImprovement! Today you're 9" by u/AutoModerator

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 10 posts:

• "71 Days cigarette FREE" by u/Xephros_
• "A Guide to Thriving in Isolation" by u/Novaxel
• "Covid got me rethinking a few things!" by u/IrrigationNation
• "Starting new things makes me anxious and leads to me procrastinating - I want to change." by u/Worth_Unit
• "I’m trying to change how I view myself, can anyone help or at least give some advice." by u/Launchpadxmcquack
• "Trying to improve things, where do i start?" by u/JonesRetard
• "Please tell me a way how/what to do/ this!🙏🏼"
• "I've failed multiple times and feel demotivated. What do I do" by u/Rohan136
• "Arizona State University Health and Wellness coach in training looking for volunteers!" by u/bburgess711
• "How to improve my life?" by u/SuperflyXO

I'm 44. I know nothing about coding. I want to learn. Where should I start?

I have so many things that I want to do : learn a language, become amazing dancer, be the best version of myself, loving myself, learning the piano, good school grades, improving every aspect of my life, but I don't know from where to start and even if I start from somewhere - what I should do first? For how long? Then what improvement to add next? How to break down those things into little steps? How do I make myself do all these things instead of watching hentai and masturbating?

Given the stressful time that we're all currently going through, I've decided to write about the science of isolation and provide some ways to stay balanced and productive. I've made PDF's of the quick reference guide (the tl;dr), daily planner, and Socratic Questioning sheets, but I don't know if I can link them here. Regardless, I hope this helps some of you!

(If you're curious about any of the sources I used, send me a message and I can let you know more).

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Humans are incredibly social creatures. If the prevalence of social media wasn't enough to demonstrate this, it's even evident in the neuroanatomy of our brains. A region of the brain called the Fusiform Face Area exists specifically to recognize human faces. (I'm still waiting for evolution to catch up and store people's names alongside that information so I don't need to call every new acquaintance, Hey... you). The superior temporal sulcus distinguishes the sounds of voices from environmental sounds. It also recognizes stories versus nonsensical gibberish. And, if it's listening to someone who is an atrocious storyteller, it must work hard to make that distinction. We even have specialized cells in our brain called mirror neurons. These cells activate both when we do an activity and when we see someone else doing that activity.

All this is to say that we are hard-wired to be social. So, what does this mean for the unprecedented level of aloneness that's been mandated by COVID-19?

THE DANGERS OF ISOLATION

Unsurprisingly, social isolation has many detrimental effects on our health. Even before a global pandemic forced everyone to socially distance, loneliness was at an all-time high. A 2018 survey found that nearly half of adults reported being sometimes or always lonely. Naturally, this has detrimental effects on our psyche. This isolation has been found to lead to accelerated cognitive decline, impaired executive functioning, and reduced sleep quality. Chronic social withdrawal even elicits behaviors that are characteristic of anxiety and depression. This is primarily explained by the severe stress caused by this isolation. We need to be social.

This is best illustrated with an adorable analogy. Anyone who's tried to train a puppy has held a treat and commanded the little ball of fluff to do a trick. Now, that dog wants the treat. It's salivating like a Pavlov experiment. And, the longer it goes without getting the reward, the more stressed it becomes. Okay, so imagine now that your brain is that dog. (You've got a cute brain). The treat, in this analogy, is socialization. And, for the sake of completeness, coronavirus is the sadistic owner who is laughing and withholding your reward. You want it badly, but it's being kept from you. This puts us in a chronic state of stress, permanently locking our fight-or-flight mode into the on position.

This is incredibly damaging. It causes injury to our hippocampus, impairing our memory and ability to learn. In fact, this constant strain increases the risk of premature death for nearly every race. It lowers our cardiovascular functioning, weakens our immune system, and one study even found that it is as harmful as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. (The same study found that it was also as damaging as an alcohol use disorder and twice as detrimental as obesity to our mental and physical health). In an experiment with mice, forced isolation led to increased aggression with unfamiliar mice, persistent fear, and hypersensitivity to threats.

Clearly, solitude is harmful to our health. However, it also hurts our productivity. Which isn't the best news with a record number of people working from home. This is partly explained by research on solitary confinement, which showed that, among a host of adverse mental effects, the isolation also handicaps our ability to concentrate.

It's probably around this point that you're starting to wonder if my master plan to make you less stressed is to tell you how stress will kill you. Well, not exactly, but if that paradoxically works for you, I'll happily take credit. The plan for combatting this is best represented by a 2018 study of individuals under house arrest. The study found a number of recurring themes in the narratives of the participants. These themes, which will point us towards areas for us to target, can be summarized as:

1. Emotions and Self-Reflection
2. Relationships with Others
3. Daily Schedule and Utilization of Time

THE SOCIAL DISTANCING SURVIVAL GUIDE

In order to maintain sanity in this time of quarantine, it's imperative to work from the inside out. That's why we'll first work on the emotional distress brought on by this isolation, move onto the social aspect, and finish with our actions and productivity.

WINNING THE INNER BATTLE OF LONELINESS

Much of the existing literature that looks into techniques that combat loneliness is unremarkable. In essence, the research says that the best way to not be lonely is to be social. Cutting-edge stuff. Despite that eureka-worthy discovery, this option simply does not exist for the situation we face.

Luckily, this isn't the best way to fight loneliness. Research has found that the best way to do this is to reflect inwardly and address the underlying thoughts. So, how exactly does one fix those maladaptive cognitive patterns? In this context, the best way to do this is by reframing negative thoughts through a process called Socratic Questioning. This process involves asking a series of questions about the feelings we have to find out if there's any validity to their origin. More often than not, there isn't. Once this is realized, we can reframe the original thought into a more positive one.

The second way to win the inner battle is through the development of a keystone habit. These habits will not only counteract the harmful effects of isolation, but they will also raise our baseline levels of happiness, energy, and confidence. Not only that, but this is the most critical time to develop and maintain a habit. If you can continue a practice through this incredibly complex time, you can continue it once the global play button is pushed again. I've written of them before, but I'd strongly recommend you pick one of the following: reading, meditation, journaling, or fitness. These habits have myriad health benefits, and studies have shown that an increase in self-perception of health decreases feelings of loneliness.

STAYING SOCIAL IN ISOLATION

Unfortunately, there isn't much of a psychological trick for this one. However, I'd recommend coming up with a list of people in your life who you're close with. This could be friends or family that you have now or people that you've drifted apart from since high school or college. We're going to use this time to develop a habit that can persist past the lockdown. Write down each name on the list beside a day of the week. On this day, each week, reach out to this person and check-in. If it's someone from your past, this lockdown is the perfect explanation for why you're talking to them again.

Hey, it's been a while, but I wanted to see how everything is going with you. I think everyone is doing their best to stay social during this global dumpster fire, and it made me realize that we haven't talked in some time.

Just please, for the love of god, don't use this as an excuse to text an ex. I can't stop you, but I'll be a little disappointed.

MAXIMIZING PRODUCTIVITY

Whether you're working from home or not, it's essential to stay productive. You certainly don't need to be working yourself to death, but keeping some kind of routine will make the transition at the end of all this much more manageable.

The first thing to do is to create an airtight schedule. First, decide on what your top 3 goals are for the day. Write them down, since this makes it more likely that you'll be able to accomplish them. Importantly, connect these goals to your bigger why. Not all goals are equally sexy; some are tiresome necessities. No one gets hyped about doing the laundry. There's never been a single hip hop artist that raps about a wild weekend of spring cleaning. But, you can still find value in tasks like these. How does this task help you in the future? Describe the sensory benefits of completing this. Try to relate the responsibility to your loved ones.

Next, we're going to schedule the day into work and break intervals. Start with the task that you want to do the least. Write down the time that you're going to start, ideally in the morning. You'll never be more rested than you are after waking, and so your productivity and willpower will only drop through the day. Make use of this and get the hardest thing started early.

15 minutes after starting, pencil in a restorative break. This is something that will help restore your energy, like talking to a friend or snorting coffee beans. I wouldn't recommend using this to browse social media or watch TV since these activities suck us into a state of lethargy. If you must, though, watch a show while doing something active. After 15-20 minutes, end the break and return to another work period.

There's a couple of things that we can do to improve the efficiency of this scheduling:

• End your work period in the middle of a task. This might be halfway through an email you're typing or after you've cleaned out a couple shelves of your fridge. This allows you to pick up on a partially completed task when you return, making it easier to begin again.
• Make sure to schedule in enough physical activity in your breaks. This will help improve your circulation and refresh your body for the next work interval.
• Gradually improve your ratio. If you were only able to work for 10 minutes before being overwhelmed by the urge to smash your head through your desk, push yourself to work for 11 minutes next time. Throughout the day, you may only add 5-10 minutes to your total productive time. But the next day, start somewhere in the middle of this. (For example, let's say that you started today by writing for 15 minutes, and ended with a work period of 20 minutes. Tomorrow, start by writing 17 minutes. You know it's attainable, and it still gives you room to set a new "high"). Over the week, you might end up adding 20-40 minutes of work time. Just take it slowly and focus on small improvements.
• Try to plan out, as accurately as possible, every minute of the day. If you're having trouble forcing yourself to work, this might mean 20 minutes of work/break intervals and 16 hours of free time. Don't beat yourself up for this. The only thing that matters is that you're doing better than you did yesterday.

Once your schedule is made, optimize your environment for work. A 2012 study found that creative tasks are done better at home, while dull tasks were performed better in a more controlled setting (like an office). When you're at home, ordinary distractions like taking out the trash or walking the dog seem more enticing than a tedious work task. In contrast, an office environment lobotomizes a creative assignment.

Therefore, it's vital to set up distinct areas of your home for your work. Even if you live in a small studio apartment, set up a single corner for any menial tasks. Keep it free of distractions and only use it for this work. Set up another area specifically for creative projects, and another for relaxing. Through this, you'll learn to associate these spaces with the type of activities you do there, which will make it easier to start them in the future.

Make it harder for you to be distracted. Unplug your TV. Put your tablet under the midpoint of your mattress. Give your phone to a group of 9 people so that to get it back, you'd need to illegally create a mass gathering of 10. Download a plug-in to block social media sites during work hours.

Get creative.

Research has found that physically restricting access to these temptations can increase productivity by 22%. Before your first work interval, you may choose to check on any distractions for 5-20 minutes as a way of clearing them from your head. After this, mute any notifications, and get started.

Finally, make sure that your diet is helping you. Ideally, try to plan out all your meals at the start of the day. By doing this, you won't need to burn willpower by choosing a healthy option in the moment. You already decided on what you'd eat that morning. To maximize your energy, boost the servings of fruits and vegetables you get. This increase (up to 7 portions) will lead to you being happier, more engaged, and more creative. On top of this, there are a few nutrients worth including. Magnesium helps to relieve anxiety and relax muscles. It's found in dark leafy greens and dark chocolate. (But, just pick one; I can't imagine they'd taste too good together). Phenylalanine, an amino acid responsible for the creation of dopamine, stimulates the brain and boosts mood. Soy products, seeds, and nuts are a common source. Finally, choline, found in eggs, fish, and liver, improves reaction time and concentration. (However, too much can be problematic, so don't overdo it).

ACTION STEP

Take a minute to run through an experiment on yourself. (Or, if it helps motivate you, call it a challenge). Find something to work on, and see if you can sit down and work through it without distractions for ten minutes. The minute you check a text or switch to social media, stop your timer. Whatever time you make it to, use that time as your starting work interval tomorrow.

For 5 years or so I have had this problem that I cannot figure out, some advice would be great!

I am studying an incredibly challenging course at university that requires reading very lengthy books and drab research papers- but I love it!

Notably , this affects my hobbies as well, when I download a new course in Photoshop, I get anxious of committing to watching the whole course or finishing the video.

I cannot understand this behavior.. if you desire something, you should be thrilled to get better at it, but I would rather avoid it and binge on youtube... it makes no sense.

Just realized its been 71 days since I last smoked a cigarette, feeling proud of myself even though i still crave'em once in ahwile.

If you want to do daily check-ins, Mornings and Evenings, to remind us to stay focused and not on digital platforms like the Internet, TV, Phones, etc (aside from work-task, good friends, and good family), consider going "Device-Free" with me for a week or two.

If sometimes you notice that you're sad when your online and you want to Be better, Do better, and create more opportunities for yourself [then utilize them], consider turning off your screens and getting life in order. Even if it's a crawl or inefficient at first, focus, and your work and efforts will get better and pay off. They'll start to provide fruit.

The fruit of your labor will grow if you consistently watch over them, give them what they need, and keep it healthy and free from toxins, pests, or disruptions.

Things that could be beneficial are managing your reactions to things, giving healthy efforts, and having healthy awareness. Things that could be not-so-great (like a toxin, parasite, or disruption) could be coping with Youtube, Reddit, Pornhub, and the likes.

Consider PM'ing me if you want to "Detox from Digital Devices" for a week or so.

Turn Into This: https://imgur.com/a/1dZmE6q

This isn't good (You may not notice but people can easily sense disgraced behavior, they usually just don't say anything): https://imgur.com/a/0kpgHux

Good things to do away from screens include, Going to the Library, Working out, Cleaning, Get Things Organized, Working on Tasks, Studying, Reading, and Generally Doing Things That Make You More More Comfortable Confident and Decent.

My name is Breanna and I need volunteers to help me earn the hours that I need to become a National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach. We will work together for three sessions of no more than 90 minutes between 2/24 and 4/19. Together we will create a vision of your best self and then design goals and identify behaviors to help you get there. Please email me at beburges@asu.edu for more information if you are interested!

I studied in Dubai until my 12th grade and then went to do my college in India. In school I had terrible grades and was considered the boring or weak kid in class. Once I got into college in India and began to live alone I got into my first relationship fast without thinking. Still had the same shitty grades but with a girlfriend now. Turns out she was manipulative so we broke up in the beginning of my second year and was done. Then I began to make friends desperately ,some good some bad and started to get into some bad habits like smoking pot and drinking. My grades worsened and I began to really feel the failures of academics like to the point I could see a dead end to my dream as a software engineer.

At one point it was too much and my parents and I decided to pull the plug and get me back home . Got back to university at home now. My grades have improved to a certain degree but that's it .

.I still feel like the same nothing . .No great talent .Social to a certain degree to the point I can get a bit awkward .No real romance or anything😅 but that is kind of my last priority .I stopped having faith in God after I dropped out .Zero personal development .not looking at future prospects for my career so far .No exercise or sport ,neither do I go the gym(I'm thin and skrawny looking) .Don't talk much to family than before(it hurts them a lot) .I keep crying that my life isn't fun

FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FACED SIMILAR SITUATIONS AND HAVE FACED FAILURES REALLY BAD AND HAVE BEEN THROUGH A PHASE OF DEMOTIVATION AND COME AROUND HOW DID YOU DO IT ?

Wanna really get some tips to note down

I’ve noticed that how I see myself is vastly different than how others see me. I have a very negative perception of myself and I’m trying to change that but I don’t know how. Can anyone help?

So hello Guys, i‘m about 18 and i have a really weird feeling since months. I have the urge to do sports, quit smoking, and overall get more organised in life. I have a pretty bad weed „addiction“ even tho alot of people say u cant get addicted, well not really, but u just start to hate the feeling when u didnt smoke. I not dumb but i‘m really lazy so my grades are okay but no good enough and i really need to keep my apprenticeship. After a longer time smoking weed u kinda cant think straight and you stop caring about alot of things which often leaves you alone. Was ever anybody in a similar situation? Thx for help

I am 18 [m] and I want to improve my current state of personal life and what I do in my free time. I am addicted to playing games and watching YouTube videos that for the past few weeks during my break from school, I find myself staying up all night until 3 or 4 in the morning scrolling anxiously through my YouTube feed and to be honest, searching for porn (I have been stressed due to college life and I had nothing to turn to for stress relief except porn and addictive games). I am tired of these vices and I want to change for the better. I am not who I planned to be when the semester started. College really does a lot to you. All I want is to regain my confidence, happiness, passion in what I do, and good marks in the next semester because I got very low marks during the first semester.

P.S. I really made it a goal to try my best to achieve academically in my college life although sad to say that I am nowhere near where I envisioned myself to be before the year started. It wasn’t just college I believe that broke me but it was myself as well. I let the stress get to me and I was too complacent about my goals because I have studied at the same university for high school so I thought I had the upper hand. I only got mediocre marks and I feel bad. I feel that I have distanced myself from my close friends by a lot coming into this school year and I feel like I’m just hurting myself in the process. Am I right to still pursue academic greatness? Or should I loosen up a bit and just try to enjoy each day of college? My goals or friends?

Sorry for the incoherent, unstructured format.

I'm a introvert. I do well with people 1:1 but sometimes I'm awkward and not likeable. I'm not sure why. I feel lonely and really wish I had a few girlfriends. It's easier for me to make guy friends, but usually they are interested in me and I'm in a relationship so I dont hang out with the guys anymore. How do people make friends? I really want to improve my social life.

Who was my idol? Growing up, I'm not exactly sure who my idol was. It would be easy to say it was my parents or my teacher. Instead, I'm going to tread down a more difficult path. I had no specific idol. That may sound harsh and completely irrational, but it's true. I had no single idol because I idolized everyone. The reality was that I held everyone to such a high regard that I diminished the value of my own self-value. I became transfixed on the idea that everyone was better than I was. And I set crazy high goals for myself, some that would seem almost impossible. At one point I wasn't sure if I could reach the standards I had set for myself, unsure if I could ever become someone important, someone who mattered. Everyone you heard about on the news or in the magazines was larger than life, crazy successful and rich. And then I finally realized, none of that mattered. As long as I was trying my absolute hardest, and never ever gave up to achieve my purpose in life, whatever it may be, I would have done something truly amazing. I could live a worthwhile life. Yes, it may seem like gods walk among us, but at the end of the day, they are only people. Are they successful? Absolutely. Does that make them any better than you? Absolutely not. Growing up differently than somebody else, having a different color of skin, having different beliefs, opinions, feelings, talents, or having something else different about you, does not change the fact that we are all human. Maybe a person has more money than you. So what? Have they made a worthwhile difference in our society? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, people look up to those who we believe are better than ourselves. These people are our idols. Should you live your life the same way as them? That's your choice to make. But ask yourself, is this who I want to become? Or do I want to be something better? Remember to be who you are, not what other people want you to be. You are an individual. That means you are meant to stand out from the rest of the pack. Only you can decide how. So, who is my idol? My idol is the person I choose to become. Will I ever become that person? I suppose that's up to me.

(Long story) Last year, I had left a toxic “relationship/situationship” finally and the first half was going good. I paid off one of my credit cards, then started a job that was stable (before I was only babysitting). That was the first half of the year..I was regaining my self worth & getting myself out of my unhappiness/depression.

Then I quit..I went back to being depressed. Went back to unstable babysitting. I started hanging out with different guys in bad environments (I didn’t hookup)..I even saw “him”again the one I was healing from. We met up at a hotel and had sex again🤦🏽‍♀️. I’m still in the same position, but I’ve been staying away from everyone. I’m taking up a course to become a technician in the medical field.. but i didn’t do nothing productive all this time. I was hurt from him and until now I realize this..I wasn’t done healing..I brought destruction to myself.

During this year & a half, it’s like idk who I was.. now looking back I was not acting like myself it feels as if it was a different person..like something came over me like I don’t remember who that even was. Now i feel like myself again..& I realize I messed up bad. I was supposed to stay in that job all last year..to get experience. This year I would’ve gotten a better job and got my esthetician license (that’s what I was planning on doing)..& made more money off of that. I was supposed to elevate and just stay to myself and grind. But I didn’t, I was just passing by and trying to fill in a void from all the hurt. He’s the first person I had feelings for the one I lost my V too.

I was hurt but in denial and not only from that but from all the traumas from my life. I was supposed to heal but I gave up on myself bad and I can’t get that time back. I take self accountability but I really dk who i was during that time..it The strangest feeling. I never acted that way..I’m so disappointed in myself.

Most of us are feeling stuck in their jobs that they don’t like and are always looking to move into something that they love and have passion for it.

There is a saying that you can’t quite something until you love it. That means you need to stop complaining about your current situation and how much you hate your job and start to think and find things that make it more entertaining and enjoyable. Focus on what you can find in your job to like and in the meantime hold your vision of where you want to be. When you do that, you will be on the right path with what you want to be.

Here are 6 Tips to get you in the right direction for what you want:

1. Be Nice and Kind

Gift a colleague, pay a compliment or do something good for him/her. Take attention to your colleague. If you observe a co-worker having a bad day, offer your help and listen carefully to his/her problems.

When beginning to notice things that you appreciate about your situation, you can start to take further steps into your true passion. Set your aim to appreciate what you have and be excited about what comes next.

2. Take Breaks

False fatigue comes in when you don’t take some time to get up and move. When you have false fatigue, you perform less efficient than if you take scheduled, regular breaks. Movement is very important, so get up and stretch your legs and walk around.

There is a technique called “Pomodoro” which suggests a 25 min of continuous and nonstop work and then a short break. After 4 rounds, take a break of 20 to 30 min.

3. Appreciation

What do you appreciate in your current job? Make sure to have a list of positive aspects of where you are right now. Have you learned new skills? Have you developed a good relationship with others? Is there a colleague whose company you enjoy? or even if the only thing you like is you have a good paycheck, be appreciative and grateful for that.

4. Laugh!

Look for a laughing buddy. Find a co-worker who enjoys finding funny stories to laugh, and share with you the joy. Laughter has a high impact on your work life, and puts you on the right path with what you want!

5. Meditate

You can always incorporate meditation into your breaks. Even if all you do is close your eyes for a couple of minutes and take deep breathes, that will refresh you. Another idea is to find something interesting and intriguing to you in your environments, such as painting or a plant, and ask yourself. What do you see? What do you like about it? What others may miss? The idea behind this is to move our focus away from our routine and open new neural pathways in our brain, which keeps us creative and more engaged with the work. 

6. Decorate your workspace

In a way that pleasing you, decorate your office and make sure to keep it organized, clean and uncluttered. You want to feel good in your space that you spend so much time of your day! and that will reflect positively on your work.

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Read More: https://www.liferefreshing.info/

I'm here on earth to entertain my friends with ease, I need that instant shock and simplicity not the.. "hmmmm what's this" reaction.

Hi!

We just launched https://unidash.co which is a personal productivity platform to view actionable work items from Github, Jira, Google Drive, Google Calendar apps in a single place. For example, for Github, you can view PRs to review, pending PRs and assigned issues as actionable cards, as well as the CI status of your and your colleagues' PRs, all in one place.

We are working on integrating with other apps like Pagerduty, Asana, Trello, Gitlab and many others. Please share your feedback and try out the product if you can. We are also looking for answers on couple of questions below:

1. Would you pay for something like this out of your pocket? If so, how much? Or would you get your company to pay for it?
2. Which apps would you like to see here besides the ones we already support?
3. What other actions would like to perform on the platform? (We currently support basic task management)

Thanks!

Happiness is a desire for everyone on this planet. However, we might face events and situations that cannot let us achieve our happiness.

We might encounter failure and rejection, need to deal with unfriendly or problematic people, Plans goes wrong or work at a job that we don’t like, these bad situations and events prevent us from feeling the happiness and the fulfillment, and their memory affects our mind in the long term afterward.

After going over these bad events, our mind starts to expect the worst-case scenario, and that leads to a negative mindset, the happiness starts vanishing and the bad expectations appear. People fear that any happiness they will experience will be replaced by something bad and suffering. To become a happier person you should start eliminating this damaging habit.

We frequently associate our happiness with external events, like getting a promotion, finding love or enjoying a party with friends. Perhaps these events might make you happy, but you don’t have to rely on them for happiness. You don’t have to wait for certain events and situations to happen so that you can enjoy happiness. You can always involve in activities that make you happy.

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Read more: https://www.liferefreshing.info/2019/10/embrace-happiness-with-these-6-habits.html

Is the world of butterflies all frolic and fun? Butterflies dancing under the rays of the sun Chasing one another through the air Do butterflies live without worry and fear? Perhaps there's something we can learn from butterflies dancing Though we may sometimes be faced with life's dilemmas, We can respond by choosing To rise above the problems Without worry and fear Perhaps, we to, can learn To go through life dancing...

                                         By Publish
                                        Copyrighted

Motivation https://inspire4me.com

Close your eyes and see The vision of your inner truth It's all the goodness for your life The treasures in your soul Let your heart participate In the revelation You want to see and know For the truth of your heart Knows the secret of your soul So you can stand bold And not be crushed under life's pressures Instead, you will utilize your soul's treasures See the vision in your mind Open your eyes Create and manifest your world From the inside

           By Publish
          Copyrighted

Inspiration, Motivation https://inspire4me.com

Can you make yourself smile from heart quickly when you are down?

Is there anything funny, good memory or other things that can brighten up your mood whenever you think of them?

One year ago, I was graduating high school with no job, living with an abusive family, with no hope of escape, no money, and no friends.

Now I'm living 500 miles from that place, with an amazing man, two great friends, a very good job, in a house on a beautiful lake. My life isn't perfect, but damn it's so much better.

I was talking to a woman recently who felt like all her friends and family were being mean to her. She was widowed 4 years ago, started dating again and found out her new partner was cheating on her and her best friends knew it! They said they didn't want to hurt her more by telling her, but not telling was also pretty hurtful. I shared this article with her that talks about that, especially when you have known grief, and I wanted to share it here too in case others know that feeling and want to know how you can do something about it! https://www.elephantjournal.com/2019/07/why-we-are-all-asking-for-people-to-be-mean-to-us-and-how-you-can-change-that/

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Every year, thousands of young and ambitious graduates will leave the halls of college into the real world. Among these bright-eyed graduates will be CEOs, Founders, Innovators, Freelancers, and Entrepreneurs. These explorers, some of them have a well-defined plan for their business and others with nothing but dreams and hopes, are ready and determined to establish and follow their unique career paths. 

However, before packing away your interview suit or refusing a job offer, you have to evaluate yourself if you truly have what it takes to start your own business.

​

1. Do your research

Your first step to start a business and see if what appeared a great idea can become a feasible business is to do the research. Take your time doing the study for all the elements that help your new business to launch.

“Research is like the motorway lights, it can’t tell you where to go but it can reduce the risk in how you get here” Vision- Brand people

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Read more: https://www.liferefreshing.info/2019/06/advice-to-become-entrepreneur-after.html

Here are some of my favorite quotes on personal development. Habits, tendencies, actions, thoughts, things we all need to consider. https://opulentwisdom.com/personal-development-quotes/

This is from Napoleon Hill, the man himself. I've listened to this countless times so I wanted to dig a little deeper. Hopefully you enjoy and gain something from this! Much love.

https://opulentwisdom.com/characters-of-a-pleasing-personality/

I'm 24 now. What a trip. Feels like yesterday I was just graduating high school.

I'll try to make this as short as I possibly can.

2008-2010 My parents had split in 2008, which left me not wanting to build relationships in life, and became withdrawn. My mother does well for herself and met a nice man who was a family friend for a long time. She enabled me to be honest and I realize that now. I had developed PTSD and was already prone to it, but I have fully recovered with EMDR.

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2010 - 2019

• 15 - Depressed, very popular in high school, played all sports, stoner, didn't take school serious. Living in the moment. Girls loved me b/c I was popular, but I didn't care about relationships. Just sports and having fun.
• 16 - Started taking prozac just to be able to get up. Went out w/ friends had a great senior year. Again, living in the moment, not thinking about tommorow
• 17 - Graduated, had to go back to finish a class after I graded. Still, was not thinking about the future. Soon after, all my friends had started college, but I had not prepared for the next step. Depressed again.
• 18 - Got my first job as a labourer, working full time. Saved up about 10k in half a year. Bought a car. All my friends were in college, studying. I had no idea what I wanted to do.
• 19 - Quit my job, hated working in the rain, no direction in my life. Deciding to take some courses at college. Confidence ground 0, I had a girlfriend but she really gave me a reality check. She was hardworking, striving to become better. But me, I was an emotional mess and completely the opposite. You know what the results of that were. I started abusing pain killers while staying home and driving my Mom insane. I had a very negative feeling towards others.
• 20 - The drug abuse got worse. Highly addictive, doing stupid things, just very embarrassing part of my life. Struggled with college, couldn't focus, really immature.
• 21 - I quit the drugs, really clouded my judgement. I went back to work as a labourer, was making $20 an hour. Pretty good but I needed more out of life at this point. Began doing EMDR, which saved my life and brought my mindset back to a clear state which allowed to me not worry about things I shouldn't be thinking about. Worrying about the things that are important in life.
• 22 - Worked a full year the company, I really wanted to start building relationships and friendships again. These were destroyed while I was on drugs. Tried to pick up girls again, no dice. Tried college again and didn't work. I was still very immature and felt I haven't grown since I was 18. People at 22, had already been finishing college, etc.
• 23 - Got a better summer job at the municipality. $31 an hour. I used to work, go home, repeat. Slowly I began to cherish the relationships and realized if I keep going on the way with this negativity, I'm gonna be 30 and live life like a shmuck. Started to realize I had to become more mature.
• 24 - Got laid off the job after summer, went back to school and took some E-Comm courses. This was the best thing that could of happened to me (I promised myself to never work a labourer job again). Now, my mindset is more clear, i'm very confident. I've really been through alot. I just wish I had straightened up earlier but I had alot of emotional issues before. I have a lot of time to catch up on now. I put no stress on my self to perform. I don't worry about anything (this is bad and good). I tried to get this girls number at a shop in the mall. I got friend-zoned via text. This made me realize that girls don't really care about your looks. They want a guy who is on the same level as them or better, someone going somewhere in life. It's not like high school anymore where they only care about looks, it's much more deeper than that. I've paid so much attention to self improvement now that it's lit a fire in my belly. I want to be that guy whose husband material, I want to have positive relationships with everyone around me now. I was to enjoy my life, I want to succeed in life. I now have found the motivation to do so, might be right or wrong, but it really motivates me to do better everyday. Whereas 5-6 years ago, I could give a rats ass.

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• MY PLAN - By September of this year, I will be joining a 1-year intensive program at school which would allow me to become a network administrator and potentially make 20-25 an hour, labour free. I promised myself I wouldn't work any more dead end - labour jobs. I have a shopify store that sells a bit for now, and it can only grow.
  • I really want to meet more people now, I spent my whole life being negative, but at the end of the day, I need relationships to live a healthy balanced life. I want to meet as many people as I possibly can. I have fell behind in life. I'm trying not to put much pressure on myself and it feels good but honestly, if I'm stressed or worried about something, I feel a super-high need to fulfill that goal.
  • Focusing on women gets me no-where, honestly. It just wastes my time that I could put to building something else. I think I'm going to give up on that. (Scarcity mindset)
  • I felt like a burden on my mom my whole life almost. I can only now show her through actions that I'm capable and really appreiciate what shes done for me. She won't be alive for ever. (54)
  • I want my own place. I want to travel. I'm just so glad I've been thinking about these things now, compared to 5 years old, I was struggling to survive daily.

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TL:DR - My lifestory has been a rollercoaster ride for me, but as a 24 y/o now, I feel like I can finally see the light. Took me long enough.